Friday, May 29, 2009

Okay, so I'm supposed to be at BEA right now. Instead, I'm sitting at my desk in my yukata with a can of flat sprite by my side (all I can keep down) and feeling tremendously sorry for myself that I'm missing out on everything.

I'm not sure what I have. I think it's the flu. All I know is I feel wrung out and really, really bummed. (Whine, whine, wallow, wallow.)

BUT that's not what I was going to post about! I promised you a bonus and here it is: I just got an extra box of DEATH BY DENIMc/o my agent, who got a bunch of copies from my publisher. This is on top of the author copies I got in the first place. So I have extras!

For this week's freebie, I'm going to give away five signed copies. Here's five ways you can be entered to win one of them -1. If you were at the Author Carnival in New York yesterday, tell me about it!2. If you are attending BEA, tell me about it!3. If you know of a good flu remedy, please tell me about it!4. If you just really want a copy, tell me about it!5. If you have already have a copy, you can nominate one of your friends to win!

I will draw the winners on Tuesday, June 2.

P.S. If you are a book blogger and would like to give away some copies of DEATH BY DENIM, please send me a note at gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and I'll hook you up (as long as supplies last.)

P.P.S. To my regular readers and previous winners... you may notice that I am a little behind getting the prizes sent out. (I need an assistant!) As of tomorrow's post office run, though, I should be all caught up. If you have won something and haven't received it by next week, please let me know and we'll double check the list!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Another Denim GiveawayI'm featured on Stephenie Kuehnert's blog Women Who Rock feature this week and giving away a signed copy of DEATH BY DENIM. The link is here.

AND Speaking of Denim...Check out this denim quilt my dear friend Jenny is making for me to celebrate DEATH BY DENIM! Isn't that the coolest thing EVER?!

Teen Author Carnival!Tomorrow is pre-BEA Author Carnival is tomorrow! Woot! I'll be flying out in the morning.For those of you who don't live in the New York area, the event will be streamed online live! You can check it out Thursday, May 28 4-6 p.m. EST on this page:http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.blogtv.com/People/fallofautumndistroA list ofparticipating authors can be found here.If you have questions for any of these authors, you can send them to @AuthorCarnival on Twitter anytime before or DURING the event!

Stoopid Power Texting Conspiracy Theory Seriously, New York Times? North Korea is firing Nukes and the first Hispanic woman has been nominated to the Supreme Court, and you think this is a news item worthy of print space? American Idol is over. Let it go.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope my American friends had a great Memorial Day. Did you take the time out to thank a veteran for their service on your behalf? If not, it's not too late. Gratitude is non-expirational. (Is that a word?)

Friday, May 22, 2009

I'm happy to welcome back to the blog YA author, friend, GCC and TFC sister and all around nice person, Melissa Walker! Melissa is a former editor of ELLEgirl and Seventeen magazines, blogs with Readergirlz, and is co-founder of the awesome I Heart Daily.

You may know Melissa from her Violet series, VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY, VIOLET BY DESIGN and VIOLET IN PRIVATE. Her latest book, LOVESTRUCK SUMMER just came out May 5th. Here's the official blurb:

LOVESTRUCK SUMMERis the story of Quinn, an indie rock girl who came out to Austin, Texas for a music internship. She also plans to spend long, lazy days in the sun at outdoor concerts--and to meet a hot musician or two. Instead, she’s stuck rooming with her sorority brainwashed cousin, who now willingly goes by the name “Party Penny.” Their personalities clash, big time.

But Sebastian, a gorgeous DJ, definitely makes up for it. Sebastian has it all: looks, charm, and great taste in music. So why can’t Quinn keep her mind off Penny’s friend cute, All-American Russ and his Texas twang?

Sebastian is the kind of guy Quinn wants, but is Russ the guy Quinn needs? One thing’s certain: Quinn’s in for a summer she’ll never forget!

And now for the interview:

What inspired you to write LOVESTRUCK SUMMER?A trip to Austin made me swoon and want to fall in love in that city to live music!Are any of your characters based on real people that you know?Only parts of them are based on people I know, and that's always true. But as a whole, they really are themselves, and they're fictional. Although I do have friends who shun country music like Quinn. I'm still trying to convert them.

What excites you? Traveling to new cities like Austin.What turns you off?Provincialism.

If you could invite anyone you wanted - living or dead - to hang out with you at a weekend retreat, who would you invite and why?Oh, this is kind of a sad answer, but it'd be my dad. He died a few years ago and I'd just love to talk to him some more. About life, about love, about big dreams.What's one thing most people don't know about you?I can be very, very shy. But I try to hide that.

What's your favorite quote?Lately it's been, "Yes, we can."

Milk Chocolate or Dark?Dark! Dark! It's practically healthy with all those anti-oxidants.

Since Melissa just gave away a copy of LOVESTRUCK SUMMER on my blog for the launch party, up for grabs this week is a $10 Amazon gift card. (Drawing open until Tuesday.)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

American IdolAnyone watch the Adam/Kris finale on American Idol last night? What did you think? Who do you think will win? I was a little underwhelmed by the show as a whole - especially the Kara song - but I think both Adam and Kris had "moments." I'm pretty sure Adam will come out ahead, but I love that both of them will be just as pleased if the other wins.

Teen Author CarnivalKind of spur-of-the-moment, I made it work so I could go to BEA and participate in the Teen Author Carnival next Thursday night. If you're going to BEA or are in the NYC area, I'd love to see you!

New Moon PosterOoooh. I love the darker, edgier feel to this poster. Who do you think carries the poster here, Edward or Jacob? As much as I laughed at the makeup/wigs/special effects/acting in the first movie, I can't wait to see this one!

Book AuctionPlease take the time to hop over to this site and bid on a book or two. This auction is to benefit Bridget Zinn, an upcoming YA author. Bidding ends May 29th.

OK, today's the big day! I'm going to be drawing the winners for all the fabulous author giveaways AND the Grand Prize Deadly Denim gift bag, including all three DEATH BY... books, French and Italian treats, gift cards and more.

But first, I'm out the door to Blendon MS for an author visit. That gives you a few extra hours to leave comments, bring a friend and spread the word before the drawing.

Celebrating a new Aphra tale, particularly one featuring denim, is a cause for huge celebration around here. I love Aphra and her adventures!

I grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and as the Stampede capital of the world, blue jeans were just a part of everyday life. As an author, though I didn't really stop to think about it until today, virtually all of my main characters wear jeans at one time or another. In my very first book SEEDS OF TIME, the way the main character discovers she has travelled back more than 600 years in time is when she looks down and sees she is no longer wearing her jeans -- they have been replaced by a long skirt of thick, brown wool.

In my new book -- also a time travel story -- Darby Christopher is wearing her favourite jeans when she walks through a stone window -- except, in this case, because it is mid-summer, they are cut-offs. But when she finds herself suddenly in the dark, kneeling on something cold and crunchy, she knows that something BIG has gone wrong:

With the snow under her knees came a realization. She must have fallen asleep. There’s no way this could be anything except a dream. The kind of dream where you find yourself in a place that you’ve never been before, but is somehow familiar.That had to be the explanation. There she was, on her hands and knees in some kind of crunchy snow in the middle of the summer, wisps of fog swirling and fading all around. The only thing to do was to head for the beam of sunlight that gleamed like a beacon ahead. The sun grew brighter and the air was suddenly sparkling like prisms – pretty painful on the eyes – but Darby had never been so happy to see daylight in her life. She crawled as fast as she could toward the source of the light. If there was a record for the fastest crawl through snow in cut-offs, Darby was determined to break it. The strangely glittering ceiling suddenly dropped, but after two head bumps in as many minutes, she just ducked down and beetled straight for the light.By the time Darby got the nerve up to lift her head again, she realized she had crawled nearly twenty feet past the end of whatever weird tunnel she’d been in. And when she did look up, she wished she hadn’t. Around her was a world of white...

To celebrate Aphra's return in DEATH BY DENIM, I've got two copies of Darby's story A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW to give away. To win, just leave your name in the comments below. And if you'd like to read Darby's blog, you can find it HERE at Darby Speaks. Maybe I'll see you there!

Please welcome Sara Hantz, another Teen Fiction Cafe sister and Kiwi! Sara is the author of THE SECOND VIRGINITY OF SUSIE GREEN and, among other things, keeps us organized and going on over at Teen Fiction Cafe.

I'm so thrilled to be taking part in Linda's launch party for Death by Denim.

If it's anything like Linda's other books, I know it's going to be a fabulous read.

As it's all about denim, I thought I'd share an experience of mine from years and years (and years and years... gulp) ago.

Levi's used to make jeans that shrink to fit. And the best way to shrink them so that they fit perfectly was to sit in a hot bath with them on. Imagine me sitting in the bath in a pair of jeans. Fine while I was in the bath but when I got out they were so heavy it knocked me off balance and I went flying. I didn't sustain any serious injury - not counting my pride. And if that wasn't bad enough, dye in jeans runs and when I took them off my legs were a delicate shade of blue!!!

A copy of the Second Virginity of Suzy Green is up for grabs so leave a comment for a chance to win it!

When I was in junior high, torn jeans were all the rage. Everyone from Jon Bon Jovi to the most popular girl in school had jeans if various stages of shred—from one big slash below the back pocket to dozens of holes up and down the legs. Everyone wore holey jeans ... except for me. Maybe it was my mom's background as a costumer, but she just could not fathom the appeal of ripping a hole into a pair of perfectly good jeans.

One day, I got home from school while my parents were still at work, and I discovered that the knee of my favorite jeans had a tiny little hole worn through. This was the opportunity I'd been waiting for! I called my mom at work, told her about the tear, and asked her if I could go ahead and cut across the whole knee from that little hole. Minutes later, I'd snipped the knee and started pulling at the edges to give it that frayed, authentically-worn-through look.

When my mom got home she flipped! Apparently, in my excitement I'd neglected to listen to her answer to my question—which had been, quite obviously, “No.” Score one for selective hearing. I got in a little trouble, but every time I played with the frayed edges of that hole when I got bored in class (aka frequently) I knew my accidental rebellion had been worth it. To this day, those were my favorite (and most memorable) pair of jeans.

So let's have a little hot-or-not poll. Are torn jeans awesome ... or appalling?

To be entered to win a copy of the new paperback OH. MY. GODS., leave a reply answering Tera Lynn's question.

First things first, because I know some of you are anxious about this. The winners of Friday's drawings are:

DEATH BY BIKINI - Brooke Reviews

Deadly Denim gift bag - Sarah Christine

I had a great time last night at the signing, hanging out with my friend Jenny, getting to know the awesome CRM Linda, and meeting a bunch of you from Lakota West (hi, guys!) I have to show you this couple that came into the store. This has got to be my favorite prom date idea ever - go to a bookstore! Prom couple FTW!

When I was driving home, Jenny called to tell me there was a tornado warning in the area and wondered if maybe I should come back to Cincinnati (I live about two hours away). I called my husband and had him check the weather radar online and see where the storm was, and he said, "You're in the middle of it." Huh. It wasn't raining, there was no lightning, it didn't even seem that windy. So I decided to go for it. I only got maybe 20 minutes down the road when they closed the Interstate! It was a parking lot for miles. And by then I couldn't turn around because I wasn't anywhere near an exit and I was hemmed in by other cars. We sat there for over an hour before the road was open again. Weird. So I got home about one in the morning, and then had to meet for the Undokai at 7:30.

An Undokai is a Japanese sports day. They have relays and tugs of war and other team games. Luckily, the rain held off until we were done.

So now, let's get back to partying!

Some of you may have heard of the teensforjeans program that collects gently-used jeans for homeless teens. Even David Archuleta has been getting into the action. Here's an article about some of the teens near Cincinnati collecting jeans for the project. Check out the link above to get involved with the project this year. New information will be going up in the fall and you can get involved. Meanwhile, you could be collecting those jeans!

For today's daily drawing to win a copy of a signed DEATH BY DENIM, leave a reply telling me what you could do to help someone in need.

Happy Saturday, everyone! This morning I woke up late and I have to run out the door to an undokai. I'll explain that one when I get back! And give you a report on my night at B&N and thereafter. Let's just say it has something to do with being caught in a tornado and not getting home till one a.m. (Which is why I'm up late.) I'll post about it - and announce Friday's daily drawing winners - this afternoon.

Meanwhile, I'm going to let my friend and Teen Fiction Cafe sister Wendy Toliver get the party started. Wendy is the author of THE SECRET LIFE OF A TEENAGE SIREN and MISS MATCH. She will be signing with me in Utah, along with Sidney Salter and Aprilynne Pike (whose book WINGS just debuted at #6 on the NYT bestseller list! Yay, Aprilynne!) Anyway, if you're in Utah, we'd love to see you. I'll post details as it gets closer.

Take it away, Wendy!

I'm so excited to be a part of Linda Gerber's book launch party. Since her latest release is Death by Denim, she asked that we blog about our favorite pair of jeans. So here goes ...

You know how some people have a hard time finding shoes or bathing suits that fit right? Well, I'm one of those people who has a terrible time finding the perfect pair of jeans. A few years ago, I tried on a pair of Sevens at an outlet mall. They were a kind of weird bluish-green color but they fit amazingly well and the more I wore them, the more the color grew on me. However, they were stylishly distressed and in a few months, holes wore into the knees and bum. Which wasn't a good look for me, so I had to retire them. I went another year without a favorite pair of jeans.

Then, one day, I found some great jeans at Express. They were extra dark, extra long, stretchy (read: comfy) and a teensy-tiny size (I'm not delusional; I think they just try to make people feel good about themselves). So I bought 2 pair of those size 2s and I still have them. They're kinda dressy as far as jeans go, though, and I didn't have a pair to wear on weekends, so to speak.

As luck would have it, I was waiting for my friend to pick me up from a book signing at a Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago, and I wandered into an Aeropostle store and found the perfect pair of casual jeans on the clearance rack. Faded in all the right places, a fun straw-like stitching, stretchy, and long. AND they cost $15. If there had been more, I would've bought a whole rack of them.

Do you want to know the best part of having the perfect jeans? That gleam in my husband's eye when I wear them. :) Now, tell us something about your perfect pair of jeans. Are they like a second skin? Comfy as sweats? Head-turning sexy? Leave a comment for a chance to win an autographed copy of my latest book, MISS MATCH.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Amanda Ashby's going to keep the party going for me as I run down to the signing in West Chester. Hope to see some of you there! You may remember Amanda from the zombie blog party recently - she's the author of ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH and YOU HAD ME AT HALO. Amanda's partying long distance since she lives in New Zealand!

Denim through the ages

When Linda asked me to write about my favorite pair of jeans I instantly refused since really, that's like asking me to pick my favorite child (though with the way my son has been behaving lately, perhaps that's not actually as hard as it seems - I joke, I joke). But the truth is that I love jeans. Like really love them and I pretty much wear them everyday of the year apart from when it's too hot. In fact I can't remember a time when I wasn't obsessed with denim.

In the eighties I was forever sewing my jeans in to make them tighter, not to mention patching them, My favorite pair was light denim, ripped at the knees and quite literally required me to lie on the bed and use a coat hanger to help me zip them up. Fun times.

The nineties saw me on a never ending search to find the perfect pair of secondhand Levis 501s. Of course it was easy to go into a vintage shop and pay lots of money for a pair but I much prefered the challenge of trying to find a five buck version at a thrift shop. Of course added to the challenge they had to be the right amount of faded with the right width leg (and trust me, there was nothing sadder than finding the perfect pair of Levis only to look down at the leg and see it was tapered. I'm shuddering at the very thought). Anyway, I ended up having about three pairs of the perfect 501s and each time they died I would cut them into shorts and wear them with black tights and Doc Martins (hey, it was the nineties which meant it was totally allowed!).

As for the noughties my favorite jeans came from England and looked like the bottom half of a pair of overalls. Man, I loved those ones but they literally disintegrated on me and had to be retired to that special jean heaven in the sky. Thankfully, I went on a jeans shopping mission the other day and after trying on about 20 pairs all over town that were all equally horrible, I walked into one store that had two gorgeous pairs and since it's not everyday a girl finds two gorgeous pairs of jeans, I grabbed them both. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how the new love affair goes!

To be entered to win a signed copy of ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH (or YOU HAD ME AT HALO if you prefer) get nostalgic on us and leave a post below, telling us about the... ahem... most interesting jeans you have ever owned.

Next, please welcome party gal Lucienne Diver, author of the brand-spanking new YA novel, VAMPED. You should check out her livejournal where VAMPED's main character Gina is known to make guest appearances!

When I was a young teen, maybe even a pre-teen, I had a favorite pair of jeans you know, the kind you had to lay down on the bed and suck in your gut to zip up. I dont know what it was about those jeans... I guess I thought they made me look hot. Probably, they made me look like I was slipping out of a sausage casing, but I thought they were tres chic. Dont remember what ever happened to those jeans. I suspect my mother disappeared them on me.

Sadly, I don't have a pic. : DConfession time - have you ever worn too-tight jeans? Since we just barely gave away a copy of VAMPED her on the blog, this time leave a comment below to be entered to win this way cute Sourpuss Skull Bag.

Many thanks for Linda for inviting me to join her cyber launch party for DEATH BY DENIM!!So we're talking denim jeans...

There have been many jean styles in my day. Sadly, in grade school there was the peg leg, where you folded your straight legged jean tight against your leg and pinned it with three safety pins up the front to your knee, or folded them at the bottom. heh-heh-heh. In junior high, it was acid wash jeans. I had the acid wash jeans and the jacket to match! I hear acid wash jeans are popular in some foreign countries.

Then in high school, it was the wide leg jeans. Almost like bell bottoms, but more boot cut that they still sell today and I still buy! This is the style of jean I probably will always stick with.

My favorite jeans are from the sales rack from Gap. Wide leg carpenter style pants. Worn out after a 100 washes, fraying at the leg bottoms because they're a little too long and I've stepped on them too many times to count. They are the kind of jeans you can wear to a baseball game, grocery store, and most definitely to sit at the computer to write. Nice and comfy.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and enter to win a copy of my latest novel INVISIBLE TOUCH published by MTV Books! :)